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UK government could charge fees for requesting official information

Transparency campaigners ‘dismayed’ after the next information commissioner says the public should trust organisations

UK government could charge fees for requesting official information
John Edwards will become the UK’s next information commissioner | Parliament TV
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The public could be charged for requesting government information, according to the UK’s next information commissioner.

Speaking to MPs yesterday, John Edwards suggested that some people were “abusing” the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, which is used to hold public organisations to account.

He said that, for some FOI requests, it is “legitimate” to ask requesters to meet the cost of digging out the relevant information.